Product Review: Stiletto TI14MC-F 14 OZ with Curved Fiberglass Handle

Stiletto TI14MC-F 14 OZ with Curved Fiberglass Handle

Ease of Use

Durability

Effectiveness

Expense

Warranty

Summary

Overall this is a great hammer and one of the better Titanium ones on the market today. If I was to rank this hammer in my usual Good, Better, Best category I would say that this ranks right in the middle as a Better. It's not the best of the best hammer on the market today (That's the TiBone TB15MC) but it is not the cheapest Titanium on the market either. If you're a tradesman or just a do-it-yourselfer looking to get yourself one hell of an upgrade than this is your hammer. And you know what they say once you go Titanium you never go back!

Hello folks! Today we’re going to be reviewing the Stiletto TI14MC-F fourteen ounce Titanium milled face hammer. This is a great all around hammer especially if you’re looking at getting your first Titanium hammer. In case you haven’t found out by now I love Titanium hammers.

The TI14MC-F hammer is made by the Stiletto Tool company out of California. Stiletto has been around since the 1840’s. Yes, that’s right 1840’s. They started right around the gold-rush did and have been producing hammers and tools ever since. In 1998 Mark Martinez patented and launched the first Titanium hammer and a short while later Stiletto came out with the first branded Titanium hammer model. The rest is history. Over the years Titanium hammers have picked up and up in popularity. I predict in another ten years they will be commonplace and the former steel hammers will on the way out.

Enough about the company though let’s look at the details of the hammer. The TI14Mc-F Stiletto comes in at fourteen ounces. While this sounds small and will feel deceptively light once you start swinging you will feel the power behind it. In fact it has the same driving power as a twenty-four ounce steel framing hammer believe it or not.

The handle on this hammer is 16 inches long and made of a hybrid fiberglass material. The bottom part of the handle has a thermoplastic rubber to help absorb shock along with an ergonomic and easy fitting hand grip. It doesn’t have a curved grip like some of your ‘hatchet’ type hammers that you may be using but you will get used to the grip after repeated usage.

It comes with a straight rip claw design. Also comes with a milled waffle face. (You know, the meat grinder.) Lastly, it has a magnetic nail starter. Most premium hammer have all of these features already but they are still good to mention. So with the basics of the hammer out of the way let’s now take a look at the Pros and Cons of the TI14MC-F.

Pros

Ok folks so first thing’s first. I know you all may be skeptical on this fourteen ounce hammer. But trust me when I say that this baby drives like a twenty-four ounce steel. Heck, some users have even said it drives like a monster twenty-eight ouncer. Why is that though? Well there are two things that make this little fourteen ouncer drive like the big boys.

The first is that Titanium is forty-five percent lighter than steel. So you get a completely solid head of Titanium for nearly half the weight that a steel head would weigh.

The second factor would be the length of the handle on this hammer. It comes in at sixteen inches. Your standard Estwing framing hammer is set at thirteen inches. That’s an additional three inches of leverage and power to use to your advantage. You’ll be swinging a fourteen ounce hammer but it will be driving like a twenty-four ounce one.

Along with the reduced weight we also get the benefit of reduced shock absorption. Titanium has been proven to have ten times less the shock or vibration with each impact than steel does. So, what does that mean to you? Basically it means that your wrist, elbow, and shoulder won’t be aching near as much after a long twelve hour day of framing. If we couple the reduced weight with the better shock absorption your body will be thanking you and you can put those giant twenty-four ounce or twenty-eight ounce hammers back on your shelf to collect dust.

The last pro that I am going to mention on this hammer is the fiberglass handle. Now, truth be told, I am on the fence when it comes to fiberglass hammer handles. I am either a wood or a steel (Or, in this case Titanium) guy. To me fiberglass seems like it is the middle of the road. You get increased durability and strength in the handle by not having wood but you also get increased shock to the user. The shock isn’t as great as a steel handle but it is more noticeable than your wooden. The fiberglass is the compromise between the wood and the steel. (Titanium)

Cons

The big thing to mention on these types of hammers is price. Now keep in mind that this isn’t a bargain hammer and that you are paying for a top quality Titanium hammer. As we all know with quality comes price. There are quite a few varieties of Titanium hammers out on the market today and the TI14MC-F is right in the middle of the road between all of competitors. As I right this the price is around one-hundred and twenty dollars. (Price is subject to change on Amazon.com at any given time.) There are some options out there for under one-hundred and others over two-hundred. The one thing I can mention is that if you are considering buying a Titanium hammer you should realize that this is most likely the last hammer that you will ever have to buy. Quality.

Well, remember how I said it was the last hammer you’ll ever buy? That holds true unless you get one of those bastards rooting through your toolbox at a job site. The problem with expensive tools, as I’m sure you all know, is thieves. If someone sees you using one of these fancy Stiletto tools you may find that when you come back from lunch your hammer has mysteriously walked off. I hate to even mention this but it is a fact of life.

Stiletto TI14MC-F Magnetic Nail Starter

Alright folks well the last con that I am going to bring up on this thing is the warranty. There is a warranty on this product, don’t get me wrong. It is a one year warranty where Stiletto will replace or repair any damage to your product that is not above or beyond normal usage. Their official policy can be found by clicking here. The reason I bring warranty up is as a con is that it is only a one year term. Most of the time if you’re going to be spending over one-hundred dollars on a hammer you expect a lifetime warranty and many other companies offer this lifetime warranty. I don’t question Stiletto’s quality of manufacturing but it is still a great peace of mind to know that your hammer is warrantied for your lifetime.

Conclusion

Overall this is a great hammer and one of the better Titanium ones on the market today. If I was to rank this hammer in my usual Good, Better, Best category I would say that this ranks right in the middle as a Better. It’s not the best of the best hammer on the market today (That’s the TiBone TB15MC) but it is not the cheapest Titanium on the market either. If you’re a tradesman or just a do-it-yourselfer looking to get yourself one hell of an upgrade than this is your hammer. And you know what they say once you go Titanium you never go back!

If you are interested in purchasing then I recommend purchasing through our Amazon partner by clicking here.

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